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By Nick Mordowanec
Staff Writer
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The abrupt exit of Fox News host Tucker Carlson from the conservative network has quickly spawned several comparisons to the Bud Light-Dylan Mulvaney controversy that has led to reduced sales and market shares for the beer giant.
Carlson and Fox News Media "agreed to part ways" on Monday morning in a move that has shaken up the entire cable news industry as well as the conservative movement that Carlson himself championed for nearly a decade as host.
Following the announcement, Fox News' share price instantly dropped nearly 5 percent to $31.85 per share before slightly bouncing back to $32.50 per share by early afternoon—still a decrease of almost 4 percent compared to last week, according to MarketWatch.
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It remains unclear who will replace Carlson, who hosted the last episode of Tucker Carlson Tonight on Friday, in his coveted 8 p.m. weekday time slot. His departure follows a $787.5 million settlement that was reached last week between Fox News and Dominion Voting Systems. The $1.6 billion lawsuit by Dominion was sparked after Fox News and its anchors allegedly made false claims on-air about the 2020 election results. The lawsuit also alleged that anchors on Fox News, including Carlson, promoted former President Donald Trump's claims that the election was stolen and that ballots cast through Dominion were "flipped" in favor of President Joe Biden.
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Meanwhile, Bud Light and its parent company, Anheuser-Busch, have faced a wave of backlash following the company's decision to partner with Mulvaney, a transgender activist and influencer. Mulvaney posted a sponsored video on Instagram earlier this month showcasing the partnership, which included a customized Bud Light can with her face on it to celebrate the 1-year anniversary of her transition.
Across the United States, the controversy comes amid a wider debate in relation to transgender rights, such as trans people partnering with big brands and the inclusion of transgender women in female spaces, like sports.
For the week ending on April 8, off-premise dollar sales for Bud Light declined by 7 percent, while dollar share and volume declined by 3.7 percent and 10.7 percent, respectively, according to Brewbound, a news site focused on the beer industry. For the week prior, dollar sales of Bud Light declined by 1.6 percent. Brewbound details new data on recent Bud Light sales from NIQ (formerly NielsenIQ) provided by Dave Williams of Bump Williams Consulting.
After Carlson's departure from Fox News, users on Twitter reacted to the news by comparing the network's decision to Bud Light's dilemma.
"Fox News meet Bud Lite [sic]. Bud lite meet Fox News," former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn tweeted on Monday. "Have a nice day!"
Francis White, self-described as a retired U.S. Air Force sergeant, tweeted a meme showing Bud Light and Fox News side-by-side.
The Bud Light portion reads, "We made a dumb move and lost millions of customers & billions in revenue. The Fox News portion then reads, "Hold my beer."
"FOX News firing Tucker Carlson is even more stupid that Bud Light hiring Dylan Mulvaney!!" tweeted user @dandinohill. "There must be a STUPID VIRUS running wild in the USA!!"
"Fox just put the nail in their coffin," Twitter user @ProudGigi58 tweeted. "Did they not see what happened with Budlight?!"
In addition, user @ChelRett tweeted an image of their cancelled Fox Nation subscription.
"Fox News is going to get the Bud Light treatment. The only thing worth watching was Tucker Carlson," they tweeted.
"No way this was Fox's decision to fire Tucker," @DC_Draino tweeted. "Tucker is the only reason most people even watch Fox. Without him, their ratings will crash Paul Ryan's RINO takeover of that once beloved network is ruining the Fox News brand worse than the Bud Light woke VP of Marketing."
Conservative firebrand Candace Owens tweeted that she was "positively shocked" when learning of Carlson's leaving, referring to him as Fox News' "greatest talent."
Newsweek reached out to Flynn via email for comment.
Less than a day before Carlson and Fox News split, Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders teamed up with three other female Republican governors—Kay Ivey of Alabama, Kristi Noem of South Dakota, and Kim Reynolds of Iowa—to advertise off the Bud Light backlash.
Their video, dubbed "Real Women of Politics," is a spoof of the brand's ties with Mulvaney and encourages the purchase of $15 beer koozies that include the governors' names and faces.
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